Life as dogs. And life in general.

August 04, 2008

Bringing Up Brownies

Illustration by Gimlet Rose

Chewy. Chocolate. Icons.

My first conumdrum: where does the top billing go? To the legendary actress, or the dessert?

You see who I favored. Not only do we share a wire fox terrier connection (George, aka Skippy, in "Bringing Up Baby") but I am friends with a certain Miss Hepburn-Davis. The brownies get second billing. That's not bad, because so did Cary Grant.

Saveur arrives in the mail, and what nabs my attention but a treatise on my favorite dessert: "Brownie Points" by Dana Bowen. It's a short (and sweet) article on history, methods and chocolate. It all always comes down to chocolate.

She bakes and bakes one batch of brownies after another, each wonderful in their own right. Eventually, she settles on three recipes that are oo-la-la.

I pounce on "Katharine Hepburn's Brownies" for the above-cited reasons, but also because of the ease of the recipe. I am a wee white dog, after all.

But, I also know that Katharine Hepburn had a brother who lived with her, and he was a bit of an eccentric. He devoted much of his time developing the perfect chocolate sauce. I'm envisioning lots of quality chocolate around their house...

I splurged and used Scharffen Berger unsweetened chocolate for this recipe. Maybe it's not a splurge, but a good investment. A cheap luxury makes no sense.

What happened in the kitchen?

I pull up a chair and set my ingredients out within easy reach. You just see one small bowl for the beaten eggs, but no large mixing bowl. That's because Katharine Hepburn didn't use one for this recipe.

Hmmm. Interesting. They've come out of the oven and have cooled a while... they're flat. Dense. Concentrated.

Paging Miss Hepburn!

No, I didn't eat the brownies. My doggie dad came into the kitchen to help me clean up.

I'm told the brownies were delicious, by the way.

They're sinfully easy to make. You should try them.

Katharine Hepburn's Brownies

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. fine salt

1. Heat oven to 325F. Grease an 8"X8" baking pan with butter. Line the pan with parchment paper; grease the paper. Set the pan aside.

2. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to make a smooth batter. Add the walnuts (pecans), flour, and salt; stir until incorporated. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Cut and serve.